Lure fishing help needed
G'day,
I'm just wondering if anyone could give a complete beginner to lure fishing some advice.
For the passed few years I've been wanting to catch a fish on a lure, but I've had no luck. I'm clueless when it comes to lures, I hardly know how to use them, I don't know what ones are good for what fish/situations, and I have no idea where I should even be lure fishing in the first place.
So, what I mainly need help with is good spots for lure fishing (not asking for secret spots or anything, just anywhere that works), somewhere between Scarborough and Mindarie, preferablly close to Hillarys. I've tried lure fishing all the way up and down both of Hillary's rock walls with no success, same goes for Ocean Reef Marina's rock walls, and I've also tried lure fishing off of the North Mole with no success as well.
Usually when I lure fish I put on a small soft plastic and bottom bounce it in the hopes that a bream or maybe (if I'm super lucky) a pinkie will hit it, or I put on a metal blade lure and reel it across the surface or a meter or so under the surface at varying speeds in hopes of tailor or herring hitting it, but I've never caught a fish doing either of those.
The only time I've ever had fish hit or follow my lure is when I went on a fishing trip up to Dongara, I hooked a few herring/small tailor and a big North West blowie, but I didn't land any of them so I didn't count any of them as being my first fish caught on a lure.
What do you guys recommend I do? I'm stumped. I'm starting to think that there aren't even any fish there to hit my lure, it's either that or I'm just doing everything wrong. At this rate I'll have to wait for another Dongara trip just to get my first fish on a lure.
Cheers, any help is appreciated
scano
Posts: 1246
Date Joined: 31/05/07
Very simple
You tube
that will have more than enough info to get you catching fish on lures.
opsrey
Posts: 1200
Date Joined: 05/10/07
You Tube has it
Very hard to go past Fishing WA for segments. Start by catching Herring on lures, you seem to have tried some very good locations. Try them again after watching a few videos
Shimka
Posts: 465
Date Joined: 06/02/14
Metro rock walls & groynes
Metro rock walls & groynes are the worst spots to lure fish. You will have a much better chance on a beach with a bit of structure. Herring like to hang around structure that will offer them protection from predators. If that structure happens to be a bit of reef with deep water around it & waves breaking over it, then that's even better because tailor love that kind of structure. So find that kind of stucture & you have the opportunity to target multiple species. The only lures you need for the moment are a 15 gram Twisty & a 40 gram Twisty. I prefer silver myself but many prefer gold. Truth be told, with this kind of fishing, most times the colour probably doesn't make any difference so choose what you prefer. The 15g is for the herring & the 40g is for tailor, salmon, snook etc. If herring are going to be your target, then berley up. Most people don't berley for some reason when they are using lures for herring but it is key if you want to almost garuntee success. When targeting tailor fish the change of light (dawn & dusk), find waves breaking over reef with deeper water nearby. Tailor love to hunt in the white foamy water but the water MUST be clear. I mean clear as in it's not full of suspended sand & weed. Tailor hate that & are rarely caught in dirty water. At the moment the salmon run is also in full swing so keep an eye out for dark patches of "reef" that move, especially if those patches of reef are round. If it moves, it's not reef, it's probably salmon. Get a lure, any lure into a school of salmon & you are almost a dead set cert to hook one. Hope that helps you out. If you still haven't had any success in another week or so PM me if you like & we'll try to sort out a time for me to take you out & show you the ropes 1st hand.
Rets
Posts: 26
Date Joined: 19/02/16
There's a reef/rocky area
There's a reef/rocky area just off of the beach close to Ocean Reef Marina, I've tried lure fishing there before and I'm pretty sure I got a few hits, but no hook ups. I will try there again soon.
I also live fairly close to Blue Hole, I'm not confident enough to walk out on the reef but I could try fishing from the beach or the rocks around there.
Cheers
Shimka
Posts: 465
Date Joined: 06/02/14
Don't walk the reef if
Don't walk the reef if you're not confident & even then it should only be done on calm days at low tide with the right equipment (inflatable PFD & reef shoes). The blue hole can produce on occasion but it gets so busy with the hezza fishers that I refuse to fish it anymore. There is lots of good ground between the blue hole & hillaries though so you're in the right general area. Go for a walk along the coast casting into any holes & wash areas you come across & off the back of some of the reef ledges that come up to the shoreline. Be fishing at 1st light if fishing the mornings & be sure to fish the hour before last light & into the darkness if fishing the evenings. Fish the high tide no matter what time it is but especially if high tide is right around sunrise (sunset in summer). A swell of about 2 meters is perfect as it creates lots of white water areas along the length of Trigg reef. The fish are there, it's just a matter of perserverence to work out the best locations & times.
Rets
Posts: 26
Date Joined: 19/02/16
Thanks for all the advice
Thanks for all the advice mate, I'll probably go down in the morning some time this week. Already found a few spots that I think will work, just need to test them out.
Cheers
Hutch
Posts: 2221
Date Joined: 21/04/13
100% agree with
100% agree with shimka.
Concentrate your efforts on the beaches and reefs between trigg and Hillary's marina. Your best bet is metals 15-45g with the treble changed to a single, especially around reef as it reduces the number of lures you lose quite significantly. (Be prepared to lose lures to catch fish)
For herring a quick retrieve is usually best, however I've found tailor and snook prefer a slower, deeper retrieve. This is where the single comes into its own.
If you see any mullet or bait schools put your lure over the back of them and crank it back through.
Concentrate on sunrise and sunset, dont be afraid to stay until well after dark. I've got plenty of tailor in the period after sunset on a slow steady retrieve
Rets
Posts: 26
Date Joined: 19/02/16
What kind of single hooks
What kind of single hooks would you recommend I use? I've wanted to change my trebles to singles for awhile now but I wasn't sure what hooks to use.
Cheers
Hutch
Posts: 2221
Date Joined: 21/04/13
Decoy inline singles are the
Decoy inline singles are the go.
I'm thinking of trying jig assists on the back of the lure instead of inline singles, heard of people having success with this method
Rets
Posts: 26
Date Joined: 19/02/16
Cheers
Cheers
OOH YEH
Posts: 384
Date Joined: 16/06/15
Lure fishing
I fish off my Jetski and all we use is lures and I can say is shimano waxwing is the best for tailor , Samon and herring we change the double hook to a single and fish around reef structure.....
I went to shark bay last year and trawled out to DHI with the new recfishwest lure and caught macks and nwblowies .... when I was fishing from the rocks we use to put out burley / polard to attract bait fish and throw lures to get the big ones .... so put in the time and effort and you will be rewarded
Shimka
Posts: 465
Date Joined: 06/02/14
Love my waxwings OOH YEH but
Love my waxwings OOH YEH but I never seem to have much luck with them LB, only when I'm out in deeper water on the yak or in a mates boat. Have you had the same experience or do they work for you LB to?
OOH YEH
Posts: 384
Date Joined: 16/06/15
To be honest shimka
I never tried them land base .... but we sit just off the beach at the back of GI and throw them into the white wash around the reefs and caught many tailor .... being so close to shore I guess you could call it LB....
Shimka
Posts: 465
Date Joined: 06/02/14
Thanks for the response OOH
Thanks for the response OOH YEH. Maybe it's just me & what is now a lack of confidence in the wax wing when I'm LB. Bit of a shame because the smaller sizes cast great & it's one of my fav lures when I'm in the yak.
Rets
Posts: 26
Date Joined: 19/02/16
Cheers for all the advice
Cheers for all the advice guys, I'm pretty confident that I'll at least have a fighting chance to catch a fish on a lure the next time I go fishing now.
I'll post back with results on this thread if I do end up catching anything.
Rets
Posts: 26
Date Joined: 19/02/16
Alright, so I got out this
Alright, so I got out this morning at around 6:30 and went down to Ocean Reef Boat Harbour for a fish. I was originally going to fish off of the beach, but the tide was way up and there was no beach to even stand on, so I ended up fishing off of the rocks.
At first, I put on a 30g metal slice to try and catch some Tailor, but after 20 minutes with no success I decided to switch lures. I took UluaBuster's advice and put on a 60mm hard body minnow and did the hard sweep and pause method with it, and only my third cast I FINALLY caught a fish using a lure. 8 years of fishing and I only just now caught a fish on a lure, I'm stoked! It was only a small Herring, but a fish is a fish!
Proof: imgur.com/RINFUMw
Cheers for all of the advice guys. :)
Hutch
Posts: 2221
Date Joined: 21/04/13
Nice work buddy, concentrate
Nice work buddy, concentrate your efforts around reef and you'll have more results like this
Shimka
Posts: 465
Date Joined: 06/02/14
Congratulations. It will
Congratulations. It will only get easier now that you will have some confidence that lures really do work.
kknlk
Posts: 200
Date Joined: 30/12/08
Rets, lots of info but
Rets, lots of info but success on lures require knowledge of conditions and what fish are around. When I fish off beach/reef in northern areas from Yanchep for tailor we get success for tailor using Richter poppers, metal lures such as the twisty, knight and bishop. Size of lures matters depending on whether the fish are closer in or way out there. For bonito I tend to use mostly minnows. Salmon dont seem fussy and we've caught them on twisty, poppers, etc. For more passive fishing I livebait for salmon using herring or whatever I can catch. For herring in metro area I use a berley cage or blob with a 1 metre trace to a luminous tube/straw and no 6 hook. Herring will even bite on a chupa chup stick. Hutch mentioned decoy singles but these are expensive and really only for minnow type lures. They're not necessary on twisty or any metal lures. I just use a suitable size O'Shaughnessy. Lure losses are huge around reefs so I don't use Halcos anymore. I get my own from China which work just as well. I carry only 40 gram ones and have them with trebles or singles. I have plenty so if you want some let me know. They'll be $3 each.
Uluabuster
Posts: 722
Date Joined: 12/12/10
Shimka
Posts: 465
Date Joined: 06/02/14
What's the deal with you
What's the deal with you PM'ing technique info? Why not post it for all to learn from? I can understand it when it comes to spots or if you think you've stumbled on a secret combo of conditions that always produce the goods for you but lure selection & technique? Sort of seems to defeat the purpose of a public forum don't you think?
kknlk
Posts: 200
Date Joined: 30/12/08
Shimka, who you talking to
Shimka, who you talking to about pm?
Shimka
Posts: 465
Date Joined: 06/02/14
Sorry kknlk, been away for a
Sorry kknlk, been away for a few days. Talking to Uluabaster. Thanked for providing info but didn't post in the thread. Maybe I've missed an earlier post in a different thread, have it all wrong & now owe Uluabaster an apology but I don't think I did miss anything. Spots, stuff related to businesses etc I can understand PM's but if it's info about technique or lure selection I think it should be posted for all to see. To me, the public sharing of that kind of info is a big part of what the site is about.
kknlk
Posts: 200
Date Joined: 30/12/08
No worries, just thought it
No worries, just thought it odd that your message is public when it's directed to one particular person.